Electrical connecting clip



April 17, 1951 A. A. FLYNN ELECTRICAL CONNECTING c LIP Filed June a, 1948 INVENTOR. 1621/7922) 19. f2 WV fiTmRA/ns Patented Apr. 17, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Ohio, a partnership Application June 8, 1948; Seria-l No. 31,692

. 1 This: invention relatesclips ofthe type composed of twoclip members having jaws at one end pressed yieldingly together by a spring with one of said-membershaving. at its opposite end' an extension to which an electrical conductor is adapted tobe attached. Electrical-connection clips' of the type referredto, particularly if of large size, require considerableforce to overcome the spring andopen the jaws of the clip. Consequently, it'is'frequentlydifiicult to apply the clip to a battery or other terminal, especially when the terminal islocated in an inaccessible positionrequiring. the user of the clip to exert a relatively long reach-in order to apply the clip. In such situations it'is almost" impossible-to apply the'clipby one hand.

An object of the invention is-toprovide'an electrical connection clip of the type-referred to which may be applied to a battery'or other terminal quickly and easily even though'theterminal is not in a readily accessible location and may require a relatively long reach on thepart of the user in the application ofthe clip.

Another object of the invention is toprovidea connection clip of the type referred to' which may be opened by the user without requiring an inordinate force to effect the' opening-operation and which force frequently may be beyond the strength capacity of the" user.

A further object is to provide-'an electrical con nectionclip of thetypespecifiedand which is so' constructed that the force exerted bythe user in opening the clip acts on the clip jaws through a multiplying leverage arrangement, wherefore the user may readily open-the clip 'without tli'e exertion of great strength and thus'will be" able" to apply the clip to a terminal either vertically or horivont'ally by meansof one hand even; though the terminal is not readily accessible and niay' require a long reach on the part of the user to apply the clip thereto.

A-more specific object is to provide, in combination with a clip'of the type specified, a handle arrangement for opening theclip and which arrangement provides the proper leverage so that' the user may quickly and easily apply the clip-"to a-- terminal, merely using one hand to effect the operation.

A further object is to provide an electricalcon' nection clip as referred-to in th'elast' named object and wherein the handle arrangement where it is co'nnectedto'the clip is efiectivel'y electrically in la ed' from t e cli Furth r and additional objects and adv'antages' not hereiiibef ore referred to will. became appa'r o electrical connection" Claims (Cl. 173-273) ent hereinafter during the detailed description.- of an embodiment of the invention which is to follow.

Referring to the accompanying drawing illus i trating such embodiment,

Fig; 1 is a side-elevationalview of the electrical connection clip with the jaws thereof inclo'sedposition and with anelectrical conducting cable attached to the clip, an insulatingsleevebeing mounted on the clip and shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to-Fig. 1 butshowing the clip with the jaws thereof opened asduring the application of the clip to a' terminal.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on line*33-of Fig. 1 looking inthe direction of the arrows, and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the handle that is combined with the clip.

The clip comprises two clip members in and H which, respectively, have crossed portions 42 and E3. The crossedportion- ['2' of the memher I!) extends through an elongated opening in the portion l3 of the member H; The portions [2 and I3- at-their'outer ends are provided, respectively, with jaw'carr'ying' portions l4 and i5, with the portion 14 having at its-free end an upwardly'e'xtending jawlfiwhile the portion i5 is provided at its free end" with adownwardly extending jaw H. The members Ill and II are pivotally connected together by a pivot pin it which extends through the strengthening side flanges of the members; it being understood that said members are generally channel-shaped in cross section for purposes of strength.

The member H] to the'right of the pivot pin l8, as viewed in the drawing, is provided with an extension l9 which is channel-shaped in cross section. The extension l9 receives the flat portion of a copper connectinglug 2t! which is electrically secured to the cable H as will be well understood in the art. The'flat portion of the lug 2' is c amped in tight electrical contactwiththe extension l9-b'ymeans of a' bolt 22,

washer 23 and nut 24. A coilspring 25 extends between the members In and H and has its'op' posite ends anchored within the channels of said" members while said spring'functionsto norma ly maintain the jaws I6 and H in closed relationship, all as will be well understood in au e: Preferab y a purecoocenshunt e ement around the spring 25 is provided forthepurpose" of protecting the spring, distributing current flow and reducing current loss if only one jaw is making contact.

The electrical connecting clip as thus far described is well known in the art and further details of its construction need not be set forth.

An electrical connecting clip of the type described, particularly if it is a heavy duty clip, requires considerable strength on the part of the user to open the jaws against the load of the spring 25. In many cases the user to open the clip must employ both hands in the operation. However, many times the clip must be applied to a terminal which is not readily accessible and the use of both hands to open the clip in the application of it to the terminal is impractical if not impossible. An example of an instance of this kind may be found in the battery terminal of an automobile wherein the battery is so located as not to be readily accessible and to require an extended reach by the user to apply the clip. Of course there are other instances where this situation would prevail also in addition to the one given by way of illustration. Clips of this type frequently must be applied to inaccessi-- ble terminals in an automobile in the operation or fast chargers for the battery, the use of booster batteries for starting the car and other heavy duty battery work.

The present invention contemplates providing the clip with a handle arrangement affording sufiicient leverage to enable the user of the clip to easily and readily open the clip jaws with one hand to apply the clip to a terminal, either in the vertical position or the horizontal position, and in those cases requiring the user to exert a long reach to apply the clip to the terminal.

In carrying out the invention an actuating handle is employed which has an attaching portion 26 that is adapted to be located in and secured to the jaw carrying portion l of the member II in a manner later to be described. Extending from the attaching portion 26 are angularly disposed portio-ns 2'! and 28 which, when the handle is secured to the clip and the jaws of the latter are closed, follow substantially the longitudinal contour of the member ID and its portion l2 and lie in spaced relation thereto as shown in Fig. 1.

The handle further includes a hand grip portion 29 which extends angularly and laterally from the right hand end of the portion 28, it being noted that the portion 28 and the hand grip portion 29 are interconnected with a rounded surface or fulcrum portion 30 on the side adjacent to the clip member ID for a purpose which will become apparent. The hand grip portion 29 of the handle is curved in cross section to be easily engaged by the hand of the user.

In securing the attaching portion 26 of the handle to the portion I5 of the member II it is desirable that said portion 26 be full insulated from the member Therefore the channelshaped portion l5 of the member II is provided with a channel-shaped insulator 3| which interfits the portion I5 and in turn has interfitted in it the attaching portion 26 of the handle. The insulator 3| may be formed of any suitable insulating material as, for example, hard fiber. An insulating bushing 32 extends through registering openings in the portion |5 of the member H, in the insulator 3| and an opening 33 in the attaching portion 26 of the handle. A rivet 34 extends through the bushing 32 and intermediate the heads of the rivet 34 and the upper side of the attaching portion 26 of the handle and the lower side of the portion 5 of the member II are insulating washers 35 and metal washers 36. It will thus be seen that the attaching portion 26 of the handle is completely insulated from the clip.

When the jaws of the clip are closed, as shown in Fig. 1, or when the jaws of the clip are clamped upon a terminal the handle portions 21, 28, 3. and 29 are completely spaced from the member ID. However, during the opening of the clip to move the jaws from the position indicated in Fig. 1 to the position indicated in Fig. 2 to apply the clip to a terminal, the rounded fulcrum portion or surface 30 of the handle will, if an insulating sleeve for the clip is not provided, contact the outer side of the member Ill and have rolling movement thereon. The operator in opening the clip to apply the same to a terminal grasps with one hand the hand grip 29 of the handle and the extension I9 of the member ||l together with the lug 20 and cable 2| and merely by a Squeezing action of his hand readily and easily with a minimum amount of strength opens the clip jaws. It will be noted that this squeezing action of the users hand causes the handle to move relative to the member ID with the curved fulcrum surface 30 of the handle having a rolling action on the outer side of the member |0 adjacent to the right hand end of the latter and substantially spaced longitudinally of the clip from the attaching portion 26 of the handle. Consequently the force exerted on the hand grip 29 is transmitted through the handle with a high leverage to the portion l5 of the clip member H and thus the latter member is moved on the pivot It in a jaw opening direction and against the load of the spring 25. It will be apparent that the handle enables the clip to be opened readily with the exertion of a minimum force on the part of the user and that the latter can quickly and easily apply the clip either horizontally or vertically to a terminal that is difiicult to reach.

Preferably an insulating sleeve 31 will be employed with the clip and said insulating sleeve will surround the clip members In and H and extend over the extension I9 of the member ID and over the lug 20 with the cylindrical end 31a of the insulator sleeve embracing the clip 2| as is well understood in the art. The insulating sleeve 31, due to the spacing of the handle from the member Ill, extends therebetween and when the clip jaws are opened by the squeezing action of the users hand, as already explained, the rounded fulcrum surface 30 of the handle will have rolling movement on the insulator sleeve rather than directly on the outer surface of the member ID.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described herein it will be understood that the invention is susceptible of various modifications and adaptations within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an electrical connection clip of the type including two cooperating members, means adjacent one end of said members pivotally interconnecting the same, said members having divergent portions extending from said one end and crossed portions adjacent the opposite end of said members and integral with said divergent portions, said crossed portions being provided at their outer ends with integral jaws, and spring means interposed between said divergent portions and acting to maintain said jaws normally closed; the improvement which comprises a handle having an attaching portion secured to a jaw of one of said members and a fulcrum portion spaced from said attaching portion and located adjacent the divergent portion of the other of said members and which fulcrum portion is brought into temporary contacting engagement with the divergent portion of said other of said members when the operator grasps the handle and clip and moves the same relatively toward each other to open said jaws.

2. The improvement defined in claim 1 and wherein said fulcrum portion of said handle extends substantially parallel to said divergent portion of said other of said members and has a curved surface normally spaced from but which is brought into temporary rolling contacting engagement with said divergent portion of said other of said members when the operator grasps the handle and clip and moves the same relatively toward each other to open said jaws, and insulating means interposed between said attaching portion and said jaw of said one member.

3. The improvement defined in claim 1 and wherein the attaching portion of said handle is integral with an intermediate. portion which in turn is integral with the fulcrum portion, said intermediate portion and fulcrum portion of said handle being respectively substantially parallel to the crossed portion and the divergent portion of the other of said members.

4. An electrical connection clip of the type including two members, means adjacent one end of said members pivotally interconnecting the same, one of said members at said one end being provided with an extension beyond said means to which a conducting cable can be attached, said members having divergent portions'extending from said means and crossed portions adjacent the opposite ends of said members and integral with said divergent portions, said crossed portions being provided at their outer ends with integral jaws, and spring means interposed between said divergent portions and acting to maintain said jaws normally closed; the improvement which comprises a handle having an attaching portion secured to the jaw of one of said members, insulating means between said attaching portion and said jaw, said handle being further provided with an intermediate portion integral with said attaching portion and a fulcrum portion integral with said intermediate portion, said intermediate portion and said fulcrum portion extending respectively substantially parallel to the crossed portion and divergent portion of the other of said members and normally in spaced relation thereto whereby an insulating sleeve can be positioned over said clip and intermediate said fulcrum portion of said handle and said divergent portion of said other member, said handle having a hand grip portion integral with and extending angularly from said fulcrum portion whereby said fulcrum portion can be caused to exert pressure upon the divergent portion of said other of said members when the operator grasps the hand grip portion and clip and moves the same relatively toward each other to open said jaws.

ALFRED A. FLYNN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 892,319 Sohl June 30, 1908 1,025,362 Beuoy May '7, 1912 1,173,099 Davis Feb. 22, 1916 1,313,572 Bake Aug. 19, 1919 1,965,151 Mueller July 3, 1934 

